palmer



(.No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. W. PALMER.

MEANS FOR MAKING BORINGS AT BOTTOM OF DEEP WATERS AND 'IN TIDEWAY-S. No.525,795. Patented Sept. 11, 1894.

'N-ITED STATES FFICE.

PATENT ALFRED WILLIAM PALMER, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CHARLESH. TOMPKINS, OF SAME PLACE.

MEANS FOR MAKING BORINGS AT BOTTOM OF DEEP WATERS AND IN TIDEWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 525,795, datedSeptember 11, 1894.

Application filed July 8, 1893.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED WILLIAM PALMER, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, and a resident of New York, county of New York, and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Meansfor. Making Borings at the Bottom of Deep Waters and in Tideways, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the means made use of for supporting steam andother power operated rock drilling machines which are employed formaking borings in the earth to ascertain its geological formation priorto the driving of tunnels, the construction of foundations, or thebuilding of heavy and massive structures, where a knowledge of suchformation, if not absolutely essential, is at least desirable. Thedrilling machine usually employed in making these borings are of thatform in which the head or cutting portion is made in the form of anannulus, with its lower side or face studded with diamonds, and iscarried at the end of a tubular rod which is rotated by the engine orother source of power. As thus constructed, the head or cutting portion,during the boring operation, is held pressed against the substance inwhich the hole is to be made, and the cutting or boring is efiected bythe abrading or plowing action of the diamonds as they are carriedaround by the head in its rotation, forming thereby an annular orifice,with a central core which, in the boring operation, extends as it isformed, upwardly into the head and into the tubular supporting rod, andis afterward broken off and removed to serve as a means to illustratethe formation through which the boring has been carried. The cutting ofthe drill being thus edected by the abrading or plowing action of thediamonds as they are carried around by the head in which they aresecured, it is obvious that not only is the most eflicient operationeffected when the diamonds are held constantly pressed against thesurface that is to be cut away,but that when the head is in a state ofrepeated reciprocation toward and away from such surface, as by theaction of the waves when the drill is mounted upon a scow, the boring isless satisfactory, and the danger of Serial No. 479,909. (No model.)

breaking or removing the diamonds from their seats by the repeatedimpacts against the surface being cut away, as such diamonds are carriedviolently against it, is greatly enhanced, not to mention the liabilityto breakage and rupture of the other parts of the drill.

When the boring is being accomplished either upon land or in shallowwater, the

V mounting of the drilling machine can be such as to prevent theobjectionable back and forth reciprocatory movements of its drill orcutting portion, since in the one case the machine can be supported upona carriage, a tripod, or other stationary stand, while in the other itcan be mounted upon a scow or upon a platform secured to the top ofpiles or other supporting structures resting upon the bottom of thewater in which the boring is to be eifected. When, on the other hand, itis the desire to make the borings where the water is so disturbed bytides, the undulations of waves or otherwise, then a scow cannot beemployed in consequence of the rising and falling motions thereof, or isof such a depth that piles, or the other structures mentioned cannot beavailed of in consequence of the failure to secure piles of the properlengths, or structures of the requisite heights, then the borings of thecharacter specified have had to be dispensed with, or if employed at allhave been conducted under such disadvantages as to render them highlyunsatisfactory if not altogether worthless. I have discovered, however,that by dispensing with the usual scow and piles and mounting the entiredrilling apparatus upon a single post extending upward from the bottomof the water, if properly stiffened and guyed, the disadvantagesheretofore experienced in making borings in deep or turbulent water maybe obviated, and such operation carried on with approximately the samefacility and satisfaction as when carried on upon the land or in shallowwater.

The object of my invention is therefore to provide suitable means forsupporting a steam or other power operated rock drilling machine wherebythe making of borings in deep or troubled water may be facilitated andrendered practicable; and to this end the invention consists, first, inthe means whereby this boring in the bottom of deep waters is effected,and, second, in various other constructions and combinations of partsentering into such means, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, Figure 1, is a perspective view, showing the scow and asteam rock drilling machine mounted in accordance with my invention, andFig. 2, a partial sectional view of a steam rock drilling machine andits supporting structure,

parts being broken out for convenience of illustration.

In all the figures, like letters of reference are employed to designatecorresponding parts.

A indicates a steam or other power operated rock drilling machine, and Bthe post or column upon which itis mounted. The drilling machine A, maybe any of the ordinary or well known forms of power rock drillingmachines now in use. I prefer however to employ that form in which theboring is effected by an annular headstudded with diamonds and known inthe art as the diamond drill. As shown in the drawings, it consists of aframework or housing, 0, in which is mounted an oscillating steamcylinder, 0, the pistonrod of which is connected to a crank on thehorizontal shaft d, and imparts thereto a rotary motion. This shaft, (1,is provided on its end with a beveled gear, e, which meshes with asecond beveled gear, f, secured by a suitable feather to the sleeve 9,in which is supported the tubular boring rod it, that carries at itsforward end the head It. Through the gearing and parts thus described,rotary motion is communicated to the head h from the shaft (1, and thefeeding of the boring head to the material to be cut away is effectedthrough the intermediary of the gears 'i, t" i i and the shaft j, thegear t of which series is mounted upon the hub of the beveled gear f,while the gear 1' thereof is fixedly secured to the lower end of theinteriorly screw threaded sleeve which engages with a screw thread, 7c,formed on the outer surface of the sleeve 9, all as is common in thisclass of drilling machines and require no further description herein.

In the construction of the supporting post or column B, any appropriatematerials may be employed. I prefer, however, to make use of metaltubing for the purpose, and to form it in sections of convenientlengths, which are united end to end by suitable union joints orotherwise. As thus constructed, it carries at its upper end a platform,D, upon which is supported the drilling machine A, While at its lowerend is secured a flange or plate, E, whereby to prevent it from undulysinking into the earth through the action of gravity upon the partsabove.

In some cases I find it desirable to form the post or column of a singletube 1), which is made of the proper cross-section to sustain the weightthat is to be put upon it. I prefer, however, in most cases, toconstruct it with an exterior tube, B, and an interior tube B as shownmore particularly in Fig.2 of the drawings, since a firmer and morerigid support for the drill is afforded thereby. When thus constructed,the flange or plate E on the exterior tube B resting upon the earth atthe bottom of the water, serves to support the parts against the actionof-gravity, while the interior tube 13 extending down through any siltor sand at the bottom of the water, enters an orifice made in the rockfor the purpose by a drill or otherwise, and not only protects theboring rod from any lateral flexure, but also acts as a. guide for thesame.

The post or column B being constructed in either of the ways beforespecified, is held supported in a vertical position, with the drillingmachine upon its upper end, by suitable guys, F, with the boring rod hextending downward through the center of same, for cutting away the rockor stone, as shown in Fig. 2.

The guys F may be provided at their lower ends with anchors, H, or othersuitable appliances by means of which they may be secured to the bottomof the water, and are equipped at their upper ends with suitable blocksand tackle L, whereby to put the proper strain upon them to hold thepost or column in a rigid upright position.

When the drilling machine is used in drilling under shallow water, thepost B, in most instances, will be rigid enough without the aid of otherappliances. When,on the other hand, it is to be employed in drillingunder water of considerable depth it may be found necessary to truss thesame, in which case I make use of the truss rods or wire I), which,secured near the upper and lower ends, respectively, of the post orcolumn, are held under strain and taut by struts, a, extending outwardlyfrom such post or column, and en gaging at their outer ends therewith.In most cases a single set of trusses will sutlice for the purpose.When, however, a single set is not suficient, an intermediate setbetween the middle and each end thereof may be employed, in which case aseries of rods,

or wires 11, secured at one of their ends near the middle of the post orcolumn, and attached at their other to the upper or lower end thereof,respectively, may be employed with struts, a, co-operating therewith inthe same manner as with the first mentioned set of trusses, and as shownin Fig. 1 of the drawlngs.

For supplying the necessary steam for operating the drilling machine, Iemploy the boiler K which is or may be supported upon a scow, L, and isconnected to the drilling machine through the flexible tube Z. Similarlywith respect to the supply of water to the interior of the boring rod h,to lubricate the interior of the same where in contact with the rock orother substance, and for washing out the detritus made by the drill incutting it away, I employ an ordinary donkey pump, M, which is likewisecarried on the scow L, and is connected with the upper end of theboringrod by a flexible tube, m.

By the construction and arrangement of parts above described, I provide,as will be seen, means for mounting a steam or other power operateddrilling machine in such a manner as to permit of its efficientoperation in boring, not only under water which is of great depth, butalso in locations where there are violent wave motions, or strongcurrents,

or both, as the structure, while of such (ii-- mensions as to afford thenecessary rigidity of support for the drilling machine, at the same timeolfers but little cross-section to the action of the water as it ismoved around and about the same by the waves or currents.

The mounting of the boiler and the pumpson a scow or supports separateand apart from the drilling machine, and connecting it therewith by aflexible tubing also conduces to the efficient operation of the device,since any motion that may be communicated thereto by the waves orotherwise is not transmitted to the drilling machine or its support.

For feeding the drill to the stone or other substances to be cut away, Ihave shown the means usually employed in the diamond drilling machine asordinarily constructed, but it is obvious that I may employ any otherwell known means for this purpose, or may dispense' with such partsaltogether, and provide for the feeding of the drill thereto by theweight of a person or anyother body applied to the upper end of theboring rod.

While, in the above description, I have had reference more particularlyto what is known in the art as the diamond drilling machine, it is to beunderstood that I do not confine myself thereto, but reserve to myselfthe right to make use of any of the other well known forms of poweroperated rock drilling machine, and still be within the scope of myinvention. Again, in the foregoing I have described the best meanscontemplated by me for carrying my invention into practice, but I wishit distinctly understood that I do not limit myself strictly thereto, asit is obvious that I may modify the same in various ways withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof.

Having now described my invention 'and disclosed certain of the ways inwhich it is or may be carried into effect, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The combination, with a tubular post or column provided with aplatform at its upper end, aflange or plate at its lower end, and a setof trusses for preventing it from lateral flexure, of a rock drillingmachine mounted upon said platform, with its drill or cutting, portionextending down through the center of said post or column and series ofguys for maintaining such post or column in an upright position,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a tubular post or column provided with aplatform at its upper end, and a flange or plate at its lower end, andtrusses for preventing it from lateral flex- -ure, of a rock drillingmachine mounted upon said platform, with its drill or cutting portionextending down through the center of such post or column and a series ofguys provided with blocks and tackle, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a tubular post or column provided with a flangeor plate at its lower end, a rock drilling machine mounted upon itsupper end, with its drill working through the center thereof, and meansfor holding such post or column in a vertical position, of a scow, aboiler and pump mounted thereon, and flexible tubular connectionsbetween such boiler and pump and the drilling machine, substantially asdescribed.

4. The. combination, with a post or column composed of an exterior tubeB, provided with a platform D, and a flange or plate E, and an interiortube B and trusses for said exterior tubezwhereby to prevent it fromlateral flexure of means for maintaining said post or column in avertical position, and a rock drilling machine mounted upon saidplatform with its boring rod extending through and working in the tube Bsubstantially as described.

5. The combination, with a post or column composed of an exterior tubeand an interior tube, a platform secured to-the exterior tube near itsupper end and supported thereby, and trusses for preventing the lateralflexure of the post or column, of means for anchoring and maintainingsuch post or column in a vertical position, and a rock drilling machinemounted upon said platform, with its boring rod extending through, andworking in, the interior tube, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 30th day of June,1893.

ALFRED WILLIAM PALMER.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH J. SULLIVAN, WM. E. TREFCER.

